Puka Nacua vs Trey McBride

“There hasn’t been a more impressive wide receiver over the past three years than Nacua. He has had at least 160 targets over a 17-game pace every season of his career.”

“For example, let’s take a player like Puka Nacua, the filet mignon of dinner. When you walk into a steakhouse, your first choice is usually the massive porterhouse or the ribeye.”

“Left practice on Tuesday with groin soreness Rams WR Puka Nacua , who left practice while walking with a trainer, is dealing with minor soreness in his groin, I'm told.”

“He was also 5th in target share (28%), 11th in air yards share (35%), and 4th in yards per route run behind Puka Nacua , Jaxon Smith-Njigba , and Luther Burden III .”

“Fantasy Football Research & Advice Fantasy Football Expert Rankings 2026 Fantasy Football Draft Kit Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Pick 1.04 Players to Consider at 1.04 Fantasy Football Draft Pick These players will likely be available when you make your selection: Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN) Puka Nacua (WR – LAR) Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA) Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF) It’s fair to assume at least one of Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs will be gone, if not both, as they’re the consensus top two picks.”

“Puka Nacua (WR – LAR) could be a season-defining player if he hits his ceiling. In his healthy games last year he averaged 24.7 PPR points per game, and simply flipping the receiving touchdown gap with a teammate would have pushed that number past 26 points per game, a mark no receiver has hit in a full season dating back to 2013.”

“Perhaps with an improving defense the Rams don’t go quite as pass-heavy this year, but Sean McVay has nearly always been aggressive and while Matthew Stafford is healthy, Nacua deserves to be a top pick.”

“Nacua’s 33% TPRR, 3.71 YPRR, and 0.179 1D/RR all led the NFL and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the only receiver in the same universe. The fact that Nacua finished as the overall WR1 while running fewer routes than Troy Franklin, Andrei Iosivas , and Elic Ayomanor is astounding, and makes you wonder what he could do if the stars aligned for him to run 550-600 routes in 2026.”

“Having Davante Adams and Puka Nacua has elevated his fantasy value, and the Rams are built to make one more run with Stafford under center.”

“Among all pass catchers, McBride trailed only Puka Nacua in receptions.”

“Not in the chart but still very relevant is that in the 27 instances of guys finishing top 24 yet running under 80% of their team’s routes, we have 4 seasons of Mike McDaniel WRs, and two seasons of Puka Nacua’s insane efficiency to take into consideration.”

“Round 1: Puka Nacua (WR – LAR) The counter-pick was Puka Nacua , ranked as the top overall wide receiver ahead of the field’s other top options. Only two players outscored him in fantasy points per game last year, and neither was one of the running backs typically drafted with the first or second overall pick.”

“Starting WR/WR with Drake London or Nico Collins in round two could let you lean into Zero RB with an elite tight end such as Brock Bowers or Trey McBride .”

“Let’s use last season’s leading TE scorer, Trey McBride , as an example. He scored 315.9 PPR fantasy points last season. In TE-premium, where he gets an extra half-point for each of his 126 receptions, McBride scored 378.9 fantasy points.”

“McBride ran 156 more routes last year than any other tight end. This fact and McBride’s talent fueled plenty of fantasy teams to championships last season. Among 59 qualifying tight ends, McBride was first in target share (25.4%), receiving yards per game (72.9), red zone targets (32), and first-read share (33.8%).”

“Tight end gets a partial exception: he’s comfortable taking Brock Bowers or Colston Loveland at their going rate in the second round, but not Trey McBride, whose value is tied to a huge target total in Arizona that’s likely to shrink now that the Cardinals used a premium pick on a running back.”

“Trey McBride (199.8 half-PPR points) and Brock Bowers (195.5 half-PPR points) are the only tight ends who clear that mark.”

“We are coming off a season in which Trey McBride provided the largest gap in scoring to the TE2 in league history (which does say more about the field than McBride himself), and he was the 11th-best player in scoring per game.”

“Last season’s production was heavily inflated by his 11 touchdowns, tying Trey McBride for the most at the position”

“ADP: -6 It will be hard for Trey McBride to top the year he had in 2025.”

“Loveland is the consensus TE3 for 2026 fantasy drafts behind only Brock Bowers and Trey McBride .”

“From Week 9 on, Loveland was TE2 in fantasy scoring behind only Trey McBride .”

“Round 3: Trey McBride (TE – ARI) I haven’t taken a receiver yet, but with Trey McBride still on the board, he was too good to pass up.”

“Neither should be drafted this high. Last season, McBride averaged 18.6 PPR points per game, and Bowers averaged 15.5 in 2024, the better season of his two years in the NFL.”